Sometimes, It's the Little Things
by Amaterasu333
Summary: Sometimes, it's the little things that become the most meaningful moments in life. Like the moment when your uniform tries to suffocate you. A collection of short stories focusing on Ryuuko and Senketsu's relationship.
1. It's the Thought that Counts

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kill la Kill or any of the characters in this story.**

This is a collection of short stories, and maybe two-parters that focuses on Ryuuko and Senketsu's relationship over the course of time. The chapters will not necessarily happen in order and will take place randomly within cannon or sometimes outside of cannon. Chapters may range from humor to drama. In other words, whatever comes to mind, I'll write. A suggestion from a review may even be considered.

* * *

**It's the Thought that Counts**

* * *

There were a lot of things about humans Senketsu didn't understand. Not yet, and there was no surprise; Being created in a lab, entirely spun of life fibers. Well almost entirely. There was always the portion of special fibers that was almost human: those fibers taken from the nervous system of the very girl whom looked him up and down at that moment. It was that that made him who he was, he thought. Otherwise, he would be no different from Juunketsu, a creature acting on instincts, desires, and orders. Though Senketsu didn't know a lot of things about humans, because of that ebbing fragment that seemed to be extending throughout his being, because of that fragment of him that was human, he was able to learn.

"Jeez, Senketsu." Ryuuko started. "You're pretty filthy!"

"Well as you know, I've been busy."

Ryuuko chuckled and Senketsu felt a tinge of warmness. He was just starting to learn how to joke, using what they called sarcasm.

"Oh really?" The girl challenged. "Well then, how about I get you cleaned up before Mrs. Mankanshoku sees you like this."

The Kamui hummed in agreement. The human left him there on the hanger, going to retrieve the laundry bucket. When she came back she filled it with warm water from the tub and mixed in a mild detergent. She found that Senketsu was very picky about it, and she only used his favorites. She set the bucket on the bathroom floor and went back to retrieve the dirty sailor uniform.

"Okay. All ready." Ryuuko tugged him off the hanger and took him to his special bath. He was set in the water once she herself had settled comfortably on the floor next to the bucket.

Though the Mankanshoku family now had a pretty decent washer that had been found somewhere along the way of the Honnoji elimination riots, the Kamui remained faithful to this old fashioned way. When Senketsu had first seen the contraption, he thought it must have been efficient to get washed in such a machine, and perhaps even a little thrilling He unfortunately found out the hard way from Mrs. Mankanshoku, that it was terrifying and painful.

Besides, nothing could replace the therapeutic touch of his partner. Ryuuko got to work after Senketsu's fibers had loosened up and began first with his sleeves. The warm water seeped through his threads, the detergent along for the ride and softening any dirt there had been stuck in between his stitching. The girl was careful to rub every inch of him between her fingers, pressing firmly but not enough to hurt, getting the soap deep into his sore fibers.

Senketsu started to relax as the grains of dirt dissolved. Ryuuko giggled at her friend. "Getting a little too comfortable aren't we?" She gave him in that husky tone she reserved for teasing.

"Aa." He simple breathed, confirming her speculation. He thought about the sensation as she finished with one sleeve and moved on to the next. "Is this what a massage feels like?" He questioned her with his eye shutting.

"Massage? I don't know. Maybe. Been a long time since I've had a massage." Had she ever had a nice massage that didn't involve a grip of death, she wondered. "I'm not sure if I've ever had a good massage."

Senketsu opened his eye to look at her. "Why is that? I thought it was something that humans enjoy." He thought about all the times the Mankanshokus had pestered one another for the very pleasure of one.

"Yeah, sure. But it can hurt if not done right. I guess I haven't had many massages, and all the ones that I have had were painful." She squinted her eyes thinking about the rough buffoons she used to know back in Ox. Even Dr. Mankanshoku work left her sore.

Senketsu hummed thoughtfully. He could understand how pain and pleasure were so close. After all, the difference between Ryuuko and the Mankanshoku treatment were light and day. And now, Senketsu felt a touch of what Ryuuko called empathy.

By this point Ryuuko had made it to the shoulder of the left sleeve and was moving onto the flap portion formed of the lapels and his back. Ryuuko always did his face at the end. It was like saving the best for last so he didn't complain when she turned him around.

"I'm sorry you have never gotten any pleasure out of the experience."

"What?" she questioned. "Why are you sorry?"

"It's just… a shame." He thought. A bad "massage" was just horrible. But a good one felt like heaven. One of the few sensations that could top this was the ironing right after. But humans didn't tend to fair well with irons.

"If I had the capabilities to massage you, I would." He offered honestly.

Ryuuko offered him a sincere smile. "I know you would, buddy. Don't worry about it." She had turned him back around to face her and was working up his front in the rhythmic motion that made him want to groan in relief. She worked carefully next to his face. Turns out that Kamuis, just like humans, had sensitive eyes. Even the patch over his right eye didn't keep it from tingling when Ryuuko brushed over it, not exactly painful but ticklish. The left eye however, would burn if Ryuuko wasn't careful with the detergent, so she mostly avoided it.

Ryuuko caressed his front facing lapels now and made sure to smooth them out the way he liked. He sighed in pleasure admiring his partner's careful work. She started to finish off the bath with his red strands which when wearing would be tied in a knot that made her imagine it as Senketsu's impressive 'stache. She would tease him that it along with the patch on his eye, made him look like her father. But for now the ribbons were simply Senketsu's impressive brows instead. She stroked both strands, pushing suds in and out and leaving them feeling smoother than before.

"What if I tried?" Senketsu caught the girl off guard.

"Hmm? Tried what now?" She asked confused. What was her silly uniform on about now?

"I could try to massage you."

"I thought that you couldn't."

"I've never actually tried" He admitted. "Maybe there's a way after all." He had considered. His sleeves without her were too flappy to do much but if he were to…

A noise of curiosity left her throat as she cocked her head to the side. What was Senketsu possibly planning?

* * *

"When you wear me." Senketsu promised. It was the next morning when Ryuuko awoke with sleepy eyes and messy hair. She looked at the time. It was still early, most of the Makanshoku family still besides her resting peacefully, but Mrs. Mankanshoku. She was the earliest person Ryuuko knew, but she seemed to enjoy the respite from the rest of the family. She was nowhere in sight, perhaps preparing things in the kitchen. Ryuuko made her way through the minefield of family members, careful not to brush them out of there sleep.

She grunted tiredly at Senketsu to wake him from his dormancy and carried him wordlessly into the bathroom with her. She filled the tub with hot water, tugging her clothing off and feeling the least bit of shame in front of Senketsu. Shame or embarrassment of nakedness was not really something he understood anyway. At some point the tub was full and Ryuuko rolled into the water half-asleep. Senketsu was more than used to Ryuuko sluggish morning marches. He knew not to say anything because she wouldn't hear it anyway.

Luckily the bath tended to wake her and prepare her for her day of beating the uniforms off her fellow students. She washed and arose with brilliancy sharp enough to rival Kiryuin Satsuki or so she declared in her daily morning bathtub proclamations.

"Are you ready Senketsu!?" She asked with fire and ferocity.

"Hai. I am." He responded and within seconds, the sailor uniform was slipped over the girl's body. As she tried to move out the bathroom, something halted her body. The very fibers of Senketsu kept her joints in place.

"Nani?"

"-But you aren't"

"Heh? Come again?"

"Ryuuko, my promise." He reminded.

"Promise?..." Ryuuko thought for a moment. "The massage. Senketsu you don't have to return the favor. It's cool." She assured.

"I desire to do this for you." Ryuuko's brow furrowed a bit. Once she got going, she wasn't really planning on halting her day with a massage. Not now. She started to ask Senketsu to wait till later, but his eagerness made her soften a bit and she sighed in submission.

"Fine fine, you silly rag. If you really want to." She gave an irritated smirk. "Should I take you off?"

"No. I only require that you sit and become comfortable."

"Okay." She didn't really want to get messaged in the bathroom, so she went back into the dining room which was currently being used as the mass family bedroom and sat on the floor next to the wall separating it from the bathroom. Ryuuko was kind of getting into the idea. Her first real nice message and all. She folded her legs in an inward box formation and rested her hands on her crossed ankles. Her eyes closed in a bit of anticipation. "Aa. Ready!" She said in an eager tone yet she still had to whisper for the rest of the family. This would be good. If anything, it would pump her up even more. She could feel Senketsu fibers moving independently of her, forming closer around her body.

And then it hit her; the message of her kind considerate Kamui. It was…painful. Senketsu squeezed around her, similar to when they synchronized except it covered too much of her body area and confined her in a way that pinched her skin. He constricted her ribs, pushed the air out of her lungs, and restrained her circulation. She didn't make a noise though. She wasn't sure if it was because she couldn't breathe, or she was trying to keep the fact that this wasn't good from Senketsu. The uniform let go and Ryuuko gasp. Before she could say anything, another squeeze. Too tight! He let go. She gasp again and groaned painfully. But Senketsu might have mistaken it for pleasure. Another squeeze. Ryuuko's eyes watered a bit. Senketsu relaxed. Ryuuko breathed.

Just as he was about to confine again she panicked. "Wait! Wait." Her arms waved around frantically. She laughed nervously, a few beads of sweat drilling down her neck. "Ahhhhhh!" She pretended to stretch in glee. "That felt good! Heheh! Agrigatou." She smiled. She pretended to rub Senketsu's lapel in appreciation when really; she was examining her bruised ribs.

"The secretion of your sweat indicates a fearful or painful reaction, Ryuuko." Senketsu realized immediately.

"Huh. What are you talking about?"

"Ryuuko. You heart rate is elevated and your blood is rushing to the surface which took the brunt of my pressing. There are many things I have yet to understand about humans, but I know a flustered reaction when I see one. Especially in you." He pointed out rather calmly.

She tried to think of something, but she had to face it. Senketsu was too attuned. "Okay. That was painful." She admitted bluntly.

"I'm sorry Ryuuko." He seemed discouraged by his failure.

"Don't worry about it." She assured. "At least you tried."

"I caused you pain. It would have been better if I had not."

"No. Sometimes, it's the little things that matter." Her body relaxed finally, slumping against the wall behind her as she stretched out her legs.

"What do you mean?"

"It's the thought that counts, Senketsu." He was a thinking being. What did thought have to do with anything? He thought all the time. The kamui gave her an upward glance, not at all understanding. It was one of those human phrases that made no sense unless explained.

Ryuuko could sense his confusion and sighed. "You thought about me and tried to do something nice. That alone is really awesome you know. It's what friends do. That's way better than some massage Senketsu."

"So, in a sense, I massaged your heart."

"Ahh! Senketsu you're so cheesy sometimes! Sheesh." Senketsu chuckled when he saw the amused smile on her face, even with her reaction. Between listening to Mako and reading the crappy school literature with Ryuuko, he was also learning metaphorical and allegorical language.

"I'm still not sure that I understand."

"You'll get it someday."

-End

* * *

~~Amaterasu333


	2. Most Demanding Article

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kill la Kill or any of the characters in this story.**

This is a collection of short stories, and maybe two-parters that focuses on Ryuuko and Senketsu's relationship over the course of time. The chapters will not necessarily happen in order and will take place randomly within cannon or sometimes outside of cannon. Chapters may range from humor to drama. In other words, whatever comes to mind, I'll write. A suggestion from a review may even be considered.

* * *

Most Demanding Article

* * *

When Ryuuko had first met the odd creature known as a Kamui, and named it Senketsu, she had no idea how annoying their future relationship would become. When she met Senketsu, he was quiet, with almost a build-in subservient nature, she thought. He consistently relayed needed information, which she thanked him for but often ignored.

"You should rest." He would often say. Ryuuko would utter a dismissal of his claims that she was weary, before walking to her next class where she secretly hoped there would be no more oppositions for a while. And then he would mostly lie dormant on her body until he had something else urgent to tell her.

"Your blood sugar is getting low. I recommend you eat before getting into a confrontation."

"Ah. I'm not hungry." Ryuuko remembered responding angrily. Her irritation was not directed at the Kamui, but the captain of the swim team whom she was giving the evil eye.

"Your blood levels are getting low, Ryuuko. You should retreat." That was before she had gotten a handle on synchronizing with Senketsu.

"Thanks but I'm not stopping now!" She refused.

"Your respiration is too high." He would warn.

"I'm…fine."

"Your Oxygen levels are too low." He said in panic.

She responded by taking a deep breath. "Happy?" She asked snappily. "Thanks but I'm good."

"I'm detecting an unusual amount of white blood cells. You might be getting a cold. Stay home." He pushed.

"The day I stay home with a head cold is the day Kiryuin Satsuki kills over from food poisoning."

It was always related to her wellbeing. It was as if he was programmed to take care of her and Ryuuko accepted that about him. He was, after all, a uniform, designed by a human and humans rarely made things that weren't designed to serve them.

And then she was proven wrong and she started to realize the dreadful truth of what was happening. Senketsu became…comfortable, Ryuuko thought. That was it. He had become too comfortable. Way too relaxed around her. He had forgotten who was the human in the relationship and decided it was a good idea to be picky and demanding. He no longer reserved himself around her, and while he still showed concern for her wellbeing, he also made his desires and intention more and more known. Desires and intentions Ryuuko hadn't known existed.

"How about a bath?" He suggested.

"Jeez. You don't hold back. Do I smell again already?" Ryuuko asked with a bit of humor.

"I was referring to myself, actually."

"…Oh. Sure."

So she made the bath, same as usual, and placed the uniform in the bucket of warm water. She looked through the shelf and grabbed the first detergent she saw and was preparing to pour it into the water when Senketsu held up his right sleeve and with an air of upmost kingship, he said. "How about no."

"Nani?"

"I was thinking." He started. "That is pretty harsh on my fibers. Maybe we could invest in something a bit gentler…for delicates."

"I…but that's…" The girl's brows twitched at the uniform's nerve. What did he mean 'we invest'. And hell, did it looks like she was made of money. Here she was a vagrant just months ago, and even now, she lived in the slums of Honnouji…and here he was asking for them to invest in unnecessary things. "I suppose you want a fabric softener too. How about some of them anti-static balls?" She said with biting sarcasm, but Senketsu didn't seem to understand sarcasm.

"That sounds remarkably pleasant." The twitch migrated to Ryuuko's eye and she was just about ready to give the rag a piece of her mind when she noticed the pleased and dreamful looks on its face, something she had never seen before. She reigned in her temper.

"Pppth. Don't hold your breath. That cost money...but I suppose I can at least look into the detergent if this one really irritates you so much."

There wasn't too much disappointment on the Kamui's face and he only nodded a pleased response. It seemed the detergent alone was enough to satisfy him. So it did have a personality other than being a relay device, she thought. It was like he was gaining a personality before her eyes. She smiled to herself. It's like raising a child.

And his budding personality and opinions didn't end at bath time either. There was ironing which he was starting to request almost every night. "Make sure you iron the creases in my skirt." He demanded "And don't forget the lapels." He finished.

"Man, you sure are demanding for a piece of clothing."

"Ah." Senketsu agreed. "I might be your uniform but I also have likes and dislikes."

"Oh yeah? Tell me what you like."

"Hmm. I like when Ryuuko irons me." He said calmly. It succeeded in giving Ryuuko a pleasant warmness that she believed Senketsu must not have been completely aware of. She chuckled while also hoping to hide her blush.

"Oh yeah. What do you dislike?" She asked with a chuckle.

"When Ryuuko misses a spot." He sighed and opened his left eye to look at the girl before folding upwards. "Ryuuko, you missed a spot on my lapel. Go over it again, please."

Ryuuko's mirth turned into irritation that she mostly hid, and still she couldn't help but ask him. "What is it with those lapels?" But Senketsu didn't respond. He was far too busy living in that moment and groaning to the amazing sensation of being ironed.

Ryuuko wasn't the most patient person, but she could sacrifice some time for Senketsu. How could she not. He was clothing but was sorta not too, or so she was realizing. But it's certainly hard, as a human, to bend yourself and spread your time taking commands from what was essentially a uniform. But he was kind to her and protected her. He didn't judge her. He trusted her. And Ryuuko could say she trusted him as well. So, she put up with Senketsu's nagging about her health and his nagging about his desires. But then he became even more comfortable, and finally, he crossed the line when his desires spilled into her own personal satisfactors.

"Don't" He said as she reached for her desired piece of fruit. His sleeve had tightened around her arm, effectively keeping it from extending any farther.

"What? What's your problem?"

"I've been meaning to talk to you about your diet. You should cut out the citrus." He suggested bluntly.

"Nani!?"

"I don't like the taste of your blood after." He admitted.

"As if I care!" She fussed. "I'll eat whatever the hell I want!" The girl displayed an active body language to match her excited tone, full of pointing at herself and stomping her foot in emphases.

The crowd she was amongst, as she bought the groceries for Mrs. Mankanshoku, paused to observe her in bewilderment. "Have you forgotten again that you're the only one whom can hear me?" Ryuuko became flushed with embarrassment, her entire form becoming so overwrought with humiliation that she abandoned her lemon and moved on to the next display of goods and pretended nothing had happened so Senketsu won that battle. No lemon for her and the girl was absolutely seething. In her mind, she had thoughts of revenge.

She put on her sweet voice. "Oi , Senketsu? I didn't know what I eat could affect my blood." She said. She was in the shared family bedroom/slash dining room before dinner. She could smell that the meal was coming along nicely.

Senketsu hummed with confirmation.

"So. What else don't you like?"

Senketsu seemed to think for a moment before an idea popped into his mind. "Spicy food. Anything spicy is intolerable."

"Spicy food huh? Gotcha! I'll avoid eating too much spicy food in the future."

"Ah. Arigatou."

And twenty minutes later, dinner came along. It was the usual. Rice, mystery croquettes, and miso soup, but Ryuuko wasn't complaining. What a strange looking meal to develop such a liking for, but today, she needed a bit more.

"Ah. Mrs. Mankanshoku. It looks delicious as ever!" She complemented. "I was wondering, do you have any type of hot sauce."

Senketsu immediately looked up at her. "Ryuuko!" Ryuuko fought of a malicious smirk.

"What kind of Mother would I be if I didn't keep that sort of thing?" Strange response but Ryuuko took it fondly nonetheless. "Mataro, sweety. Get that for me dear." Strangely the woman handed the young boy a key, which he quickly ran off into the kitchen clutching with an excited snicker.

"Woooow! Ryuuko chan! Ryuukko chan! You're gunna really eat the sauce! You're so brave Ryuuko-chan!" Mako eyes lit up with admiration and amorous stars.

"The sauce?"

Mataro came out with a glass jar, almost too heavy for him to even tote around and set it down. There was no label. Just a jar full of something pasty and red.

"The Mankanshoku secret super spicy sauce! Been in the family for generations!" Mataro proclaimed.

"Gatsu Gats." Said the dog.

"Super spicy?!" Ryuuko echoed the dog.

"It's how I got my first patient." Barazo mentioned, quite proud.

"Perfect."

"Ryuuko matte! Don't!" Senketsu argued from below and the girl cruelly ignored.

So the family applied a good helping of the paste on Ryuuko's plate. Much more than needed, but Ryuuko insisted it was fine even after warnings. She stirred it in her rice, in her soup, and dipped her croquettes generously before taking a bite. She didn't give it time to take effect and was continuously stuffing her mouth with the delicious food and quite tasty sauce. A moment later, it hit her. Her mouth felt like it was practically on fire, and it was such a sudden onset of pain that Ryuuko nearly squealed in surprise but held it in.

"Ryuuko!" The girl ignored her Kamui's protest. She kept eating, fighting through the pain, which was becoming harder and harder to hide.

"Ryuuko-chan. Why's your face so red?"

"I knew it." Snickered Mataro. "She can't handle that much Mankanshoku sauce."

"I'm fine!" She assured even as her eyes and nose started to run profusely and an unmistakable whine started to escape her mouth seconds later. Now her entire body felt on fire. She was so hot. So unbelievably hot. Her skin was red with blood rush and sticky with sweat. She was breathing harder."I'm good!" She repeated when the family started to look at her in awe. They admitted that looking at how much of the sauce she had taken from her plate, that she was extraordinarily tolerant but not for long. She continued eating anyway, until her face went numb, but by that time, her heart was beating so fast, she felt like she'd been in a battle against the Kiryuin. Her eyes were still watering but she was sure she was crying at this point. Her sinuses on the other hand had become the clearest they'd ever been. Senketsu had grown peculiarly quiet so maybe that was a plus as well. But before she had time to think of many more good things to come out of this crazy pursuit, her body decided she'd had quite enough and put her out of her misery.

"Tou-San! Tou-San! Ryuuko-chan fainted!" Cried Mako to her father.

Funny how the Makanshoku kept all their supplies at arm's length and before anyone could blink, the family surrounded the unconscious girl with gloves and masks.

"Mataro. Get out the scalpel!"

* * *

When Ryuuko came too, she was lying on the ground where she slept with the family. The others were already asleep and she herself was in her pajamas, likely dressed by Mother Makanshoku, which reminded her. "Senketsu!" For a moment she panicked and wondered if he was okay. It was obvious that she had overdone the hot sauce thing and now she felt very guilty for the whole idea in her head.

"Ryuuko." He replied. He was hanging up in his usual place right above her head and in arms length. She let out a sigh of relief. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I should ask you that. Listen, Senketsu. I'm sorry. That was pretty mean of me. Karma kicked my ass though. Can you forgive me?"

"Ah. Actually I should apologize."

"Why in the hell should you?"

"I must confess. I don't actually hate it when you eat spicy food." He said guiltily.

"Nani? Why did you say that then?"

"It wasn't hard to see what you were planning Ryuuko. So I said spicy food. I actually am really quite fond of your blood when you eat spicy food…" He was going to remark of how delicious the rush of heated blood tasted but left it at that.

"So…you tricked me into…"

"I'm sorry Ryuuko. I didn't realize you would take it so far." He thought she would be mad at him, as if she wasn't ticked off enough at him. To his astonishment, she began to giggle. It was small at first but grew incontrollable and he could tell she was struggling to keep her voice down.

"You dirty dish rag!" She laughed still and grabbed him by the skirt, effectively pulling him off the hangar and onto her chest, then surprisingly, she drew him into a hug. "That was pretty smart. I couldn't have done it better myself!" and her laughing grew.

"Senketsu. Serious question though. Why had you never mentioned before today that you didn't like when I ate lemons? I practically have been having them every day."

"Well. I didn't want you to stop wearing me, so I thought I'd wait."

"Stop wearing you? That's crazy."

"Well I am clothing after all. I wasn't sure how you'd respond to that."

Ryuuko felt guilt curl up in her chest. "Senketsu. You're not just clothing. I admit, as a human, I'm not used to my clothes giving me commands but I know that you're not **just** clothing. You're a person. A cunning, dirty person who happens to be a mean girl's school outfit." In a way, Ryuuko knew she was admitting that to herself as well. Senketsu was a person. Maybe not human, but a person nonetheless. There was no human-clothing relationship. Just two people and she was an ass for feeling like there was a hierarchy to begin with.

"Ryuuko. You believe so?"

"Yeah, I can be an asshole sometimes." She said with a guilty but unpreventable curl of the lips.

"No. You said, that I was a person. Do you really think that that is true? I was created. I was created in a lab after all."

"You have feelings. You have emotions. You're smart. You have likes, dislikes, opinions, you're kind, and you outsmarted me …ONCE! But yeah, you're a person." Ryuuko nodded her head in a way that told Senketsu he was silly for thinking otherwise. "And you can't throw persons away Senketsu, so never think that again. We're partners. Even if I hate you, and you hate me, we're kinda stuck together."

"You're not mean. You are kind to me, Ryuuko."

"We're friends."

"Ryuuko, that reminds me."

"Hmmm?"

"I didn't get ironed tonight."

"You know, I've been meaning to talk to you about your habit. I think we should cut down on the ironing."

"N-Nani!"

"I don't really like doing it that much."

"But…Ryuuko!" The girl could only laugh at his panic.

"Go to sleep." She said, restraining him in her arms like one might do a pillow. "Night."

Senketsu relaxed, supposing he could take a break from ironing to relax in the girl's arms. It was quite warm and nice, even if it developed his wrinkle problem even further."

"Ah. Goodnight, Ryuuko."

End.

* * *

~Amaterasu333

Funny how you can start a story and end it in completely different places. Sometimes, as is the case with this one shot, I think of an idea, usually pretty small and insignificant. For this story, the idea was Ryuuko becoming annoyed by Senketsu's growing neediness. I'm pretty swayable and stream of consciousness is just one of those things that happen before I know it. One thing leads to the next and before I know it, the original ending is all but gone. At the core of the story is still the same basic idea but lots of things aren't thought about until the moment I write it down. This is what makes writing so enjoyable for me. Even as the writer of a scene, I'm experiencing it as well. I'm seeing and hearing these things take place in my mind's eye and translating them into text and the whole experience is incredibly fun when I can manage to put myself in these scene and report what happens , especially when dealing with these particular characters. I had fun writing this.


	3. It's Okay

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kill la Kill or any of the characters in this story.**

This is a collection of short stories, and maybe two-parters that focuses on Ryuuko and Senketsu's relationship over the course of time. The chapters will not necessarily happen in order and will take place randomly within cannon or sometimes outside of cannon. Chapters may range from humor to drama. In other words, whatever comes to mind, I'll write. A suggestion from a review may even be considered.

* * *

I'd like to thank all my readers and reviewers for your support of these stories and your anticipation for more. It's much appreciated and I hope you continue to enjoy. This is a little less on the humorous side and more serious. Remember these stories are whatever comes to mind. So I don't expect every viewer to enjoy every story because of the varying tone. **I explore ideas and the ideas of others, so feel free to give me suggestions and I will definitely take things into consideration.**

* * *

**Its Okay**

* * *

Ryuuko was the type of person in which nothing was okay until she said it was okay. Otherwise, there was a problem. A big problem. That moment she'd found out that she had life fibers sown in her heart, a part of her was crushed. She felt like a monster. A creature built to destroy others somewhat like herself. She was a tool of destruction. Her entire identity was destroyed.

That was a rough moment in her life, but she came to terms…in a way. When she saw that Senketsu, Mako, and even Satsuki fought for her, she thought "It's okay" so it was okay. She didn't mind being part life fiber. She had a family that accepted her. I big family, and she felt that was already more than she'd had most of her life.

She still wonders though. She doesn't always know how to feel about certain aspects and implications of her new identity.

When Senketsu and she had defeated Ragyo, she screamed: "People are People! Clothing is Clothing!" She screamed it with everything in her body, and every fiber in her being, life fiber and all, but deep down, she wondered, 'and what the hell am I?' Human and Life fiber still didn't sound right at times, like it was just a cheap label where nothing else would fit. So was she neither. And if so, what did that mean? As small and trivial as it might have been, it bothered her to be un-identifiable.

When Senketsu and herself had descended back to earth, Senketsu writhing in pain after protecting her, she began to cry for her friend. "It's okay!" She proclaimed "Because I'm you and you're me." She wasn't sure if it made any sense, and her sister and everyone surrounding her likely thought she was fatigued and distraught to the point of senselessness as she hugged a damaged Senketsu to her body. She starting out smothering the flames, but ended up holding him in an embrace that told him he could never leave her, even as his cindering threads burnt into her bare skin. They had to stick together. They were two of a kind. A matching set really. And no one else would ever really understand either of them more than each other. So she didn't mind being both human and life fiber, or even neither.

Something else started to concern her though. Something she hadn't expected.

"Ryuuko?" asked Senketsu. He looked up at his partner whom played with her hair. "What is it?"

"Senketsu? Have I changed a lot?" She asked.

"Hmm?"

"I look different from when we met?" It had been nearly two years since the world had been rid of Ragyo and her Cover army.

"You look…more mature." He offered. After all, he had to be altered several times by Iori to change his dimensions to Ryuuko's specifications.

Well of course, she thought, but that's not exactly what she meant as she twisted the red strands in her hair. They had spread. It was no longer the single bang that ran down her face, but had spread widely to most of the under layers and roots. It was like she was synchronized, but instead she wasn't, and now synchronization made her hair almost entirely go red with fibers.

Not only did she see it. She felt it. Every time she synchronized with Senketsu, which was more often than you would think considering people still felt the need to challenge her, she felt something stretch throughout her core, and into her periphery nervous system, and throughout her muscles, and in between her joints, as if the part of her that was life fiber was spreading. It was growing with her. Maturing with her. It didn't hurt, or feel at all unpleasant. In fact it was the exact opposite. It felt amazing. Almost as if being relieved of some tightness in her muscles and joints. When she synchronized it was like pressure was released and she felt stronger and freer than ever yet she felt so in sync with Senketsu, she wasn't sure if she was controlling him or he was controlling her. They simply acted, somehow knowing what the other was thinking. She rarely suffered injury in battle because she had become so fast and reflexive, but for those rare occasions she did, her healing ability had become a one second process. That's when she could clearly see the strands of fibers imbedded in her exposed muscles if she looked in time.

She enjoyed her abilities, but as she looked at her hair, she wondered if she should be worried. She wondered if she was somehow becoming less human. She had no problem being part life fiber, but she wasn't ready to be all life fiber. Maybe she was paranoid. She sometime dreamt she would awake to find she had become unrecognizable to herself, her friends, even Senketsu.

Sometimes in the morning, before putting on Senketsu, she would take out the compact version of her scissor blade and have the urge to clip as many of the crimson strands as she could, but something would stop her. Her consciousness, telling her to stop being a baby and accept it. The life fibers were growing with her body. They were just as alive as the human tendons and muscles, and so they developed and migrated to parts of her body that she didn't really want them to.

She sighed in the mirror as she reached back up to pull on a clump of the fibers when something stopped its ascent. Something had clamped around her wrist, warm and with a sort of velvety like texture. Like suede.

Ryuuko looked at the black hand; a red palm lightly wrapped around her wrist. It formed from Senketsu's sleeve, or rather the sleeve became the hand, its fibers unravelling and reorganizing themselves into the tight bundles of fibers that made up the current edition. It was distinctly human-like in form and function, but the black and red tones, velvelty quality, and the long protruding fiber red claws, which was kept far from even touching her skin, made it distinctly…not human.

Ignoring what clasp her wrist, Ryuuko peered down at Senketsu. The rest of him looked the same as ever. His eye looked up at her with a touch of concern. He could feel her anxiety and he understood her to an extent.

Suddenly, he had a look in his eye that told her he would be smiling if not for the fact that she was wearing him. "Puberty is a pretty tough thing, isn't it?" He clasp her wrist just a little tighter, emphasizing the fact that she was not the only one changing.

"Puberty?"

"Why not…?" Senketsu said simply. A sort of non-response but effective nonetheless.

Ryuuko's eyes squinted a bit. She supposed that it wasn't all that different. "Fuck"

"It's okay." He whispered with mirth.

"No its not!" She suddenly shouted. "I was only supposed to go through this shit once. Two of them in one lifetime? Jeez this suuuuucks!" But even as she groaned out that sentence, throwing her head back in frustration, there was some part of her relieved by that idea, even though she knew that that was all it was. An idea to make her feel better, but she'd rather play along than remain in her state of apprehension. Senketsu could feel the way her blood pressure eased itself to normal level and knew much of her tension had dissipated.

"Let's just see how we come out?" Senketsu suggested. In truth, he could not say what was happening to them. It was something that both were experiencing independently from one another, yet the extent, speed, and direction of their change seemed partly dependent on their relationship. Specifically, synchronization made that itchy feeling in his pit burn more than ever, in a strangely pleasant way. 'Puberty' was just a word in Senketsu's dictionary however. It seemed to describe everything, but that was something he'd picked up from humans. Puberty was the answer to all problems involving "changes" happening in youth. He supposed that it was possible Life Fiber beings were not the exception. The downside only being that it didn't exactly synchronize with human puberty, so Ryuuko would have to tough it out, bite back irritation, and deal with it again.

Senketsu had let go of Ryuuko and the hand dissolved and mended back into his sleeve. Ryuuko had taken the freed appendage and patted the part of her Kamui lying over her chest, where her fibrous heart lay underneath.

She felt it beat, but only indirectly through the vibrations of Senketsu's threads, which seemed to pulse in time with her own. She gave a big smile. "Ya know. It's okay." She thought. "Puberty or not."

Because she knew she wouldn't go through this alone. She had too many people who cared about her, it didn't seem to matter to them how she changed physically. And most of all, if she had no one else, she had Senketsu.

End

* * *

~Amaterasu.

I like making notes if I have anything to say. They're usually about my writing process for the particular story or my thoughts on KlK. This one is kinda long.

It's an Idea I've been playing around with for a little while. Really, I think this theme has been pretty common and recognizable in this set of short stories but I like how it's handled in this story. That theme is "change over time." Why it's even in the description. When I watched kill la kill, I loved the characters and I loved watching them grow, and their relations grow, but being a short series, there's not a lot of time for relationship growing, and in some cases, relationships like the one between Mako and Ryuuko seem pretty established and invariable from the beginning. What's more interesting to me is the ones that changed over time like the one between Senketsu and Ryuuko and really, Satsuki and Ryuuko had to most explosive and variable relationship (I might do a set of stories about these two as well). That change is what I like to focus on in these stories. The last story is relatively early in the series, while this one is 2 years after, and the first one shot, It's the Thought that Counts is somewhere in-between. The relationships between the two are very different in each. They have different levels of understanding and respect for one another and their connection to each other. Then I like to focus on them individually, especially Senketsu.

Though it's not directly said, I think it's easy enough to see that Senketsu changed throughout the series. I thought it was cute the way he became more emotional over time. And him being heard by other humans by the end proves his change. Same with Ryuuko. Her hair did grow more red strands. This is evident in some episodes more than others, especially within the last 5 episodes. Noticing that is actually what inspired this story.

I would like to think that Senketsu is becoming more human over time. I like focusing on him, learning human things and experiencing human experiences and techniques. I like to imagine him going from more of a robotic like personality to something more free flowing and thinking. I'd like to think that their synchronizing the way they do must have effects on them. I'd like to think that Life fibers do absolutely "mature." Question is if that's something to be concerned about. Well I enjoyed writing this.


End file.
